Featured Events

When the heating boiler at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham failed a few days before Christmas, the cathedral authorities called on Stoke-on-Trent heating specialists Mellor and Mottram to carry out the installation of a replacement.

The Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham was established in 1980 in a former Catholic church, designed by J A Chatwin in 1873. It is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos – the ‘falling asleep’ of the Mother of God – and to St Andrew.

The unit chosen to replace the boiler in the cathedral is a Remeha Gas 220 Ace (pictured) – a free-standing, high-efficiency condensing boiler designed for commercial use. At the heart of the control system is a specially-designed microprocessor, with time and temperature controls supplied as standard and set and controlled by the end user.

The project is on-going, with repairs to the pipework and its reconfiguration for the new installation.

Earlier in the year Mellor and Mottram had responded to another boiler failure – even closer to home this time at St Chad’s in Longsdon, Staffordshire.

St Chad’s is a Grade Two*-listed building in the small village of Longsdon, between Stoke-on-Trent and Leek. It was built between 1903 and 1905, to a design by Gerald Horsley.

Around Easter the boiler had failed and caught fire, melting the control panel and associated wiring. The replacement is an oil-fired Remeha boiler with 120kW output, together with the appropriate control system. The flue has been lined to avoid condensation in the listed building.

Fans of the fictional medieval sleuth Cadfael will be familiar with their hero’s connection with Shrewsbury Abbey. There has been a place of worship on the site since Saxon times, with the Benedictine monastery being founded in 1083. The current building – what remained after the Dissolution of the Monasteries – is now a thriving parish church and a magnet for visitors.

In addition to the restoration of the fabric of the Abbey Church, involving around £400,000 of stonework repairs, a new boiler and pipework has been installed by Mellor and Mottram. The installation included two new Viessmann balanced flue boilers to replace the old Ideal Concord models.

The new boilers are in the organ loft, above the toilet areas. The sensitive installation had to avoid impinging on the fabric of the church and is discreetly sited away from lines of sight.

In a modern innovation that would have had the approval of the monastic detective, the system is controlled remotely via smart phone!

These three disparate projects demonstrate the range of expertise that Mellor and Mottram can call on – particularly when urgent action is required. The company has been providing heating solutions for churches and listed buildings for more than four decades. With over 600 installations behind them they can provide the most appropriate solution, whether that be traditional systems with efficient modern controls or renewable systems.

Last year they moved to new premises in their home town of Stoke-on-Trent, setting the stage for the next few decades of serving the ecclesiastical community.